Echo

Alexander Isak's Liverpool struggles blamed on Arne Slot and Hugo Ekitike - 'Messing you around'

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I was a huge fan of his when he was at Newcastle United but I never knew the injuries that he has had so I don’t know what kind of mentality he has needed to come back from that to be the same player."It’s always the same. After major injuries you’ve never quite the same and he hasn’t looked anywhere near to the player I loved at Newcastle."That might be a little bit of a concern for Liverpool but I think he's working extremely hard.



I'm just not sure if that's going to happen for him."It’ll be interesting to see how he gets on this season under the new manager, Andoni Iraola, and how he sees it and what he wants to do with the team."Yorke was also highly critical of former Liverpool head coach Slot's tendency to rotate Isak with fellow summer signing Hugo Ekitike, creating uncertainty for the Swede as he was trying to establish himself as Liverpool's main man."When Ekitike was keeping Isak out of the team, you’re not feeling like you’re worth £120m and that’s when the doubts start to kick in," added Yorke. All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page"If you’re a striker, you want to be told you’re the number one, and if you’re not getting that message from the manager, then you’ve got a long season ahead of you.

It’s not the situation you want to be in."Obviously, you've got to earn the right to play and say I’m the number one, but there’s nothing better than hearing that from the manager to say you are my guy."Isak will now be hoping to hear exactly that from Iraola, after the Spaniard succeeded Slot in becoming Liverpool's next head coach. If you spend £500m on new players you’re a threat.